Milan Fashion Week: menswear

Neil Barrett, Spring/Summer '09 (scroll down to read the review)
Neil Barrett
'Jersey, for maximum comfort,' Neil Barrett told Wallpaper* backstage after his show called Sartorial Gymnast. He had worked his signature tailoring (short sharp jackets and precise pants that always finish above the shoe) - as well as jeans, ties and blousons - into jersey, an important trend in Milan this season.

Barrett is best when he keeps it simple like this, and there were some very desirable pieces including some of the best blousons we have seen in Milan. His jeans have a low waist and a dropped crotch that look completely right, menswear is always about the smallest change of a detail.

Barrett departed from his usual palette of neutrals by adding some bright colour (fluorescent yellow, Breton blue and poppy red) in the form of a toe cap here, a collar tip there and even some solid colour mixed in with greys which had an Ellsworth Kelly feel. Barrett, not previously a colour wearer himself, said he considered, 'how to make it work for me, and if it works for me it works for my customers.'